In a spot from the "less is more" school, this radio execution for Toyota's new Echo model uses low-key humor to drive its point across with sound effects and minimal dialogue.

The spot opens to a faint whistling and sound effects from the interior of a car rolling on the road. After a few seconds, voices cut hesitantly through the silence.

"Well -- uh -- yeah," says one. "Yeah . . ." trails off the other.

"Umm," the first one agrees.

The punchline -- "At 41 miles per gallon, it's possible to run out of conversation before you run out of gas" -- needs very little else to put through its selling proposition.

SILVER

Toyota Motor Sales USA: "Wedding"

Publicis' Conill Advertising, Torrance, Calif.

Creative director: Elias Weinstock

Art director: Juan Obando

Copywriter: Jorge Inchaurregui

Production company: AZ Productions

A little hyperbole goes a long way to promote durable trucks in this spot for the Toyota Tacoma. Good writing, kicky music and well-cast voice talent all help make visuals unnecessary.

A man walks into an insurance agent's office, looking for coverage for a drive to Mexico. The agent is no less impressed that the truck is still running after 300,000 miles than that its 72-year-old owner wants to take a road trip.

"Well, it's more of a commitment -- a wedding," says the man.

"Grandson or granddaughter?" asks the agent.

"My dad," the man answers.

"And how old is he?" asks the agent. "Ninety-five," answers the client.

The agent is shocked. "Imagine -- and he wants to get married," he says.

This Puerto Rican spot uses a clever concept with excellent voice talent to plug the Volkswagen Beetle. It opens to sound effects of a busy street, and a bystander who makes like a track-side announcer while he watches the cars go by.

A little domestic humor livens up the sale for HBO En Espanol, the cable network's Spanish-language service. It puts a twist on the tagline "HBO -- Understand."

A father walks in on his daughter and her boyfriend who claim they were watching "Men in Black," but when he chats them up about the movie, the boyfriend hesitates. Dad smells a rat: "What were you doing? Are you watching the movie, yes or no?" he shouts.

"Understanding movies can save you a lot of trouble," says the announcer, over the sounds of dad forcibly removing the poor boyfriend. "With HBO En Espanol, there's no misunderstandings."

Grocery

SILVER

S.C. Johnson & Son's Raid: "Death of a cockroach"

Zubi Advertising, Coral Gables, Fla.

Creative directors: Emmie Vazquez and Marta Calvo

Copywriter: Emmie Vazquez

Producer: Maria Elena de la Noval

Production company: South Point

This spot puts overacting to good use, as well as Raid Ant & Roach Killer's long-time tagline and catch phrase. A series of mini-spots created to run together mimic a novela, with a roach slowly agonizing in each installment.

"Goodbye cruel world. I'm dying, I'm dying," says the first part. After a brief intermission, the roach is back with "Oh, how slow is death with the ordinary roach spray."

But on the final installment, it's time for the "Oh, oh, Raid!" line and the sale. "No time for a slow death for your roaches? Kill them dead with Raid Ant & Roach Killer," says the announcer.

It gives Raid's old pitch a new, humorous look that connects with the audience.

Public service

SILVER

American Legacy: "Pedo"

Bromley Communications, San Antonio

Creative directors: Rafael Serrano and Cat Lopez

Copywriters: Rafael Serrano and Cat Lopez

Producer: Pedro Roura

Production company: Face the Music

This ad pushes the boundaries of taste, but its edginess got the attention of the judges -- and presumably will work on its teen-age target.

"Cigarette smoke has 4,000 chemicals. A fart has one chemical," says the voice-over. "But you run from one and breathe in another? Eeew." She moans in disgust.

"Tobacco. That's really silent and deadly," it closes, then adds on the campaign's English tagline: "Another daily dose of truth."

The youngish announcer, the soundtrack of mellow electronic music and the overall attitude all target the teen-age demographic without being preachy or talking down to youngsters.

SILVER

Florida Department of Health's AntiTobacco Project: "Quitting"

Del Rivero Messianu, Coral Gables, Fla.

Creative directors: Luis Miguel Messianu and Paco Olavarietta

Copywriter: Samuel Albis

Producer: Rudy Leschhorn

Florida's anti-smoking campaign mixes grim humor and exaggeration to drive home its message to parents. It continues its previous tagline, "Smoking in front of your children: another form of child abuse," and the same tone of semi-serious exaggeration to scare smoking parents.

"This smoking is killing me," says a hacking youngster. "How long have you smoked?" asks another. "As far as I can remember, I started smoking at 3. And you?" he says. "Two and a half, but really, every time it gets worse," he answers.

They go on to catalog a whole series of hospitalizations and respiratory ailments, like two elderly patients comparing notes.

"We don't ask you to quit smoking, but please, don't do it in front of them," begs the announcer.

BRONZE

American Legacy: "Chupacabras"

Bromley Communications, San Antonio

Creative directors: Rafael Serrano and Cat Lopez

Copywriters: Rafael Serrano and Cat Lopez

Producer: Pedro Roura

Production company: Face the Music

Another execution in the American Legacy anti-drug campaign uses a bogeyman known to the Hispanic community, the Chupacabras, a now-legendary creature that allegedly appeared in the early 1990s, slaughtering cattle and small animals.

This spot has the same tone, music and announcer as the "Pedo" spot, but chooses a different -- though also effective -- message.

"Chupacabras only kills chickens and goats. It's world known," announcer says. "Smoking killed at least 50 Latinos today. Why is tobacco not famous for that?"

Retail

SILVER

Burger King: "Love Letter"

Bromley Communications, San Antonio

Creative directors: Rafael Serrano and Cat Lopez

Copywriter: Ignacio Guzman

Producers: Pedro Roura and Dennis Melo

Production company: New Age

Intentional overacting and a purposefully bad editing job make up for a humorous combination in this spot to promote a new Burger King menu item.

A mellifluous announcer leads a passionate reading of a love letter, interrupted occasionally by a different announcer loudly inserting the attributes of the Burger King Spicy Chicken Sandwich over the writer's words of love.

The judges appreciated a new way to promote the fast-food dining experience that even found a way to make the fine print entertaining.

Miscellaneous

GOLD

Continental Airlines: "Poker"

Bromley Communications, San Antonio

Creative director: Hector Fabio Prado

Copywriters: Matias Iribarne and Pablo Ragazzi

Producer: Pedro Roura

Production company: Gustavo Farias

The puns were flying in this verbally agile spot promoting the airline's wide service network.

The text of the gold-winning spot features a man telling the story of a friend's lucky hand at a card game with the names of cities inserted in place of sound-alike words.

"In a poker hand, Orlando got four Queens . . . He took a deep drink from his Pensacola and bet up to his Bermuda. San Francisco, help me! He cried," the story goes on for a while as his poker buddies run from his winning hand or cheat to hilarious effect.

The humor is nearly impossible to translate, but the voice-over artist ably wraps his tongue around the convoluted dialogue without missing a beat.

The witty text and the talent's performance got the judges laughing out loud, and landed this spot the winning hand.

SILVER

Banuchi Clinic: "Ow"

Lopito, Ileana & Howie, Guaynabo, P.R.

Creative director: Tere Davila

Production company: Post Audio

Group

Here's another good use of minimal dialog and sounds effects for maximum effectiveness.

Two sound effects, a loud plucking sound, each time followed by a plaintive "ouch," make up the background sounds.

Meanwhile, an announcer simply states, "Painless hair removal with the new laser method at Clinica Banuchi."

There's no need for more; the audience gets the message. The execution is clever enough not to need any more text to sell the service.